America – Back Pages (E-One Entertainment)

Frankly, I was a wee bit disappointed that soft-rock vets America didn’t follow up 2007’s respectably good Here and Now with another record of original material. With Back Pages however, the group has chosen to pay tribute to some of pop music’s best-known acts, performing their takes on The Beach Boys (Caroline No), Bob Dylan (My Back Pages) and Simon & Garfunkel (America). It is not a complete walk down memory lane, however as the band tackles more “modern” acts such as The Gin Blossoms (Til I Hear It From You), The New Radicals (Someday We’ll Know) and Fountains of Wayne (A Road Song). While America does a more than decent job making these songs their own , I am hoping this is simply a detour for the band before they get back to writing more original material.